Acquisition will accelerate protein biomarker research in pre-clinical and clinical studies for pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic clients

BILLERICA, Mass.–Aushon BioSystems, Inc., the leading provider of advanced microarray instrumentation and laboratory services for biomarker analysis, announced today that it has acquired the SearchLight® Protein Array business and technology assets from Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world leader in serving science. SearchLight assets will be integrated into Aushon, but its offerings will continue to be marketed under the SearchLight brand. The combined business will operate under the name Aushon BioSystems, with headquarters in Billerica.

“SearchLight is a pioneer in the multiplex immunoassay market, with one of the industry’s largest menus of disease-targeted biomarker panels,” said Peter Honkanen, CEO of Aushon. “With the addition of the SearchLight technology platform and its products and services, we can now offer our clients a virtual one-stop shop for their biomarker research needs – from microarray printing and custom assay development to biomarker testing services in a CLIA-certified laboratory. As a result, our customers can expect increased reliability, improved performance and the highest quality results.”

“Becoming part of the Aushon team is an ideal match for us and for the markets we serve,” said Christine Burns, Ph.D., General Manager of Thermo Fisher’s SearchLight business. “By leveraging Aushon’s microarray instrumentation and automation expertise with SearchLight’s robust biomarker content and proven strengths in assay development, our customers will be able to take advantage of a streamlined, comprehensive process for delivering reliable protein biomarker data.”

Aushon’s comprehensive portfolio of advanced products and services includes:

Aushon 2470 Arrayer: The industry’s most reliable microarray printer provides researchers with a single instrument for genomic and proteomic microarray applications, with unmatched sample and substrate flexibility and unequaled accuracy.

Custom Microarray Printing: Unmatched versatility and flexibility means printing virtually any sample on any substrate – with unequaled reproducibility, accuracy and rapid turnaround.

SearchLight Sample Testing Service: A convenient, custom service that allows researchers to submit samples for quantitative analysis in custom SearchLight Biomarker Arrays

SearchLight Custom Arrays and Assay Development: Select from a menu of more than 300 proteins to design an array consisting of 2 to 16 proteins per well.

SearchLight Chemiluminescent and Infrared Assay Kits: Choose from a list of in-stock angiogenesis, cytokine, chemokine and MMP arrays; each is supplied with a complete set of detection antibody cocktails and detection reagents.

SearchLight Plus CCD Imaging and Analysis System: Accurate, reproducible immunoassay imaging and analysis system delivers the highest sensitivity for SearchLight Chemiluminescent Assays. System includes SearchLight Plus CCD Imager and Array Analyst Software.

About Aushon BioSystems

Aushon BioSystems provides a comprehensive suite of microarray instruments, consumables and services to leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic clients worldwide. Our unique combination of advanced microarray printing technology, robust biomarker content and innovative multiplex immunoassay development and detection systems delivers exceptional performance, quality and reliability that accelerates pre-clinical and clinical biomarker research. Our customers trust us to provide the most reliable protein biomarker data available, which lowers costs and improves research productivity. For more information, please visit www.aushon.com.